A Different Kind of Wonderland
by tabathaleigh
Summary: (A GIRL FALLS IN MIDDLE EARTH FANFIC) An Elementary Education student. That's all Alice Mueller was. Doomed to study for the rest of her life… Well, that's how she felt. So, the only destiny she ever knew was working with children. However, that all changed when her curiosity got the best of her... Love, adventure, loss, and friendship seems to be her new destiny now. EDITED HTML
1. Chapter 1

"Alice, come on… You've been studyin' all day! It's 8 o'clock! You need to do somethin' fun! I've gotta group together, with a couple of hottiesand we're going to The Main Event in Tulsa Hills… You should come with us! I'll even pay for it if that'll get ya outta of the library! You never leave-" The young girl banged her head on the library table, lifting her phone away so she didn't have to hear anymore of her _older_ sister's constant rambling. She didn't sit back up until after hearing her sister scream her name through the phone.

"Sarah! Stop… I promise I will go out with you next weekend- Sarah, no- Would you please stop talking for like two seconds! Good Lord… Look, I have a _big_ test to take tomorrow morning before a _major_ lab in my science class is due… No, it's the test that allows me to move onto my internship... Alright, yeah, love you too." Alice set her phone down and let out a large sigh as her head fell to the paper and book cladded table. She loved her sister, but that didn't mean she had to like her sometimes. _It's not her fault I'm double majoring though._ Alice sighed, sat back up and got back to work.

It was around 10 o'clock before Alice decided to pack up her things and make her way out of the library with her Sony's covering her ears. The campus was still lit and many people were still walking about. Some scurrying to the next party down the street at a Frat house (no doubt that they were Freshman who didn't want to be caught), others were heading to their dorm, and a few, like herself, were heading to the apartments across the street. "Alice! Alice!" Completely oblivious to the person calling her name, she kept walking toward the shortcut to her apartment. Before the blonde could enter the building, a hand grabbed a hold of her headphones, pulling them off her ears. "Alice!" Her breath hitched in her throat as she whipped her head around to see her best friend standing there with her dark hands on her hips.

"Victoria! _Are you serious?_ Don't _scare_ me like that!" She let her headphones drop around her neck before letting out a deep breath.

"Well, I wouldn't 've had to if you _listened_ to me calling your name!" Alice laughed at herself before apologizing to her best friend and pulling the door open to the building; however, Victoria grabbed her backpack and pulled her back again.

"Oh my gosh, _what_? Just come with me!" Victoria shook her head causing straight burgundy strands to fly out of her messy bun.

"No way." Alice looked at her friend incredulously. "Alice, it's part of the _many_ reasons why I've said to 'not fall asleep in your Science class.'" Victoria gave her a motherly look, which Alice returned with an eye roll.

"Look, _I love you_ and you're my best friend and all, but you are _far_ too paranoid sometimes."

"Alice, I'm _serious_! Those science weirdos, who are all obsessed with— _you know_ — _the weird stuff_ , go in there after hours doing… _God knows what_! I'd rather not accidentally run into one of them. What if they capture us and want to keep us as an _experiment_?" Alice's face deadpanned at her best friend's explanation. The two girls had a very lengthy _30 second_ stare down.

"Yeah, _you're too paranoid_." Before Victoria could stop her friend, Alice marched through the doors of the science building looking around at the quiet and empty hallways as she made her way to the other side.

"Alice… Why can't you just walk _around_ like _normal_ people… I'm sure this is still breakin' and enterin'." Alice looked back at her friend with a small laugh. _There is seriously no one in he-_ The blonde girl stopped in her tracks as a bright light caught her attention down one of the corridors of the first floor causing Victoria to slam into her. " _Shhh!"_

" _See, I told you something strange was going on_!" Victoria whispered to her friend who only nodded her head in agreement. The two girls pulled out their phones to turn on their flashlight. All the while, the burgundy haired girl was unaware of the cat like grin across her friend's face.

" _Let's go check it out_!" Victoria gasped at her.

"Alice, we can't do th- _Alice!_ Ugh… She's worse than that girl in the Disney movie…" Victoria followed behind her friend while grumbling about how one day her friend will fall into a rabbit hole, _too_. Upon reaching the lab, Alice grabbed a tight hold of Victoria's hand before peeking inside. "Do you see anyone?" The blonde shook her head and stepped inside of the room, still holding tight to her friend's hand.

" _See_ , Victoria. _It's fine_! There isn't anyone in- _What was that?!_ " Alice and Victoria nearly jumped two feet in their before holding each other close by the neck and waist. The girls started shuffling around the room trying to find the source of the noise. At this point, they had already declared that they definitely wouldn't last in a horror movie... Eventually, Alice's heart rate calmed down enough to where she could let go of her friend. "Look, a cage! _It must be the the hoomon they are experimenting on-"_

"Alice, _don't do that_!"

"Sorry, just trying to get you back for scaring me earlier. _Besides_ , that cage is _way_ too small for a... _whole_ human." Alice let out a soft laugh only to be shushed by Victoria. "Let's go let out what's in there. It's probably like a gerbil or something." Victoria's hand reached out to Alice's shoulder, stopping her.

" _Don't_! What if it has some weird zombie disease like from iZombie?!"

"Like I said, _you're too paranoid_." Her dark green eyes scanned the small sheet that was over the cage before lifting it up.

"Oh, _how fitting_ , Alice found the white rabbit." The blonde girl looked at her friend with annoyance. Victoria just shrugged and smiled at her. Obviously not sorry for her words. Alice turned back to the cage, opened and grabbed the rabbit out. Victoria shined the light on the creature and gasped. "Whoa! Alice, it's eyes!"

"Well, you can tell me what's wrong with them after we get—"

" _Who's in there?!"_ Footsteps echoed through the hallway toward the lab room and got louder and quicker at each passing second.

"Crap, Alice! _Capture!"_ Victoria quickly covered the cage with the sheet just in time for them to duck and hide as the man approached the classroom and turned on the light.

" _Who's in here_?"

Alice peeked from behind the cabinet she was hiding behind. A guy, who seemed around her age with a lab coat on, was standing in the doorway with his head turned the opposite way. Alice leaned back behind the cabinet as she heard him walking around the room. Luckily, Victoria was able to get the back door of the classroom opened allowing the girls to slip back out in the hallway to escape. Before either one could breathe, they took off running out of the building without turning back.

" _See_ , I _told_ you Alice!" Victoria exclaimed as they made it to Alice's apartment across the street.

"Not fully, Vick. We didn't get captured, _and_ we aren't being turned into 'experiments'." The blonde stuck her key into her apartment door and stepped inside, her friend following behind.

"Speaking of experiments, _why do you still have that rabbit_?" Alice looked at her friend before looking down at the rabbit. The little white rabbit stared back at her; one little eye was blue, while the other was green. Alice's face contorted in confusion.

"Creepy, _right_? Not really what you would expect from an albino bunny." Alice looked at her friend, pondering her comment for a moment. _She's right, they are kind of creepy... What are those freaks doing in there? I might have to check it out again…_ " _Oh, no_. I know that look! _You want to go back in there_! Well, I'm not and I suggest you don't either. With that said… I'm going to go to bed before you make me do something else crazy! _Good night_!" Victoria left her friend's apartment and went across to hers. Going into the only bedroom, Alice set the bunny on her bed before going to the bathroom to wash the reminisce of the day before hopping into bed with her new "pet".

" _Bring me the one ring…"_

 _Into the night, a group of white ghostly figures take off in search of the one Ring. The leader was much more horrid to look at than any of the others: a wilted king with a face of death that looked as if it would crumble by a single touch. Despite the fact that all riders wore a crown of past royalty, this one in particular, held a higher status that anyone would be able to see. A status to be_ feared _. A look into this creature's hollow eyes, and_ she _could see secrets that were enough to make her body grow rigid and cold._

 _Unmoving, unflinching, falling into the darkness of the creature's eye, but only to come face to face with something far worse… An eye of fire. An eye that not even the smallest of creatures could hide from. An eye that made her blood boil hot and skin catch flame and burn her alive-_

A scream. A scream that was enough to wake up her neighbors echoed through the small bedroom in her apartment. Alice's blonde hair clung to her skin as she sat up panting. "What in the world sort of dream was _that?!_ " Her voice barely reached her ears as her mind and body slowly started coming to reality. Soon, the only thing she could hear again was her box fan blowing against the wall. But the peace within her didn't last... The left side of her head was engulfed in pain causing her to fall back down on her bed and grip at her head with clench teeth as tears spilled out of her eyes. _What is happening!_

Thankfully, the pain only lasted about 5 excruciating minutes. Panting, Alice grabbed her phone from her night stand and looked at the time. _4 am…_ With a sigh, Alice shakily stood from her bed and walked out of her room with nothing but the flashlight of her phone guiding her way. Flipping on the light to her bathroom, she took one look at herself in the mirror and cringed at her blurry reflection. What she could make out of her appearance due to her bad vision was still enough to frighten her. Her eyes were bloodshot particularly the left one, her skin was deathly pale, her bangs were plastered to her forehead and her long hair was plastered to the rest of her skin. Her body felt hot, but her skin was as cold as ice… _Strange…_

Shaking off her appearance Alice decided to go ahead and take a shower, despite the fact that she really didn't need to be up until around 6:30. She stripped off her clothing and entered the running shower without waiting for the water to warm up, not that she could really feel the difference in water temperature at the moment. The water ran through her hair and over her uncharacteristically pale skin. After about 10 minutes, her white skin started to come back out without a trace of any sweat-induced nightmare keeping surface. Once she was all clean, she wrapped her hair and body in a towel and took another look in the mirror and began to towel dry her hair. Luckily for her, her hair was naturally silky straight regardless of the fact that her hair was still rather coarse and thick. Something she always loved because she never really had to worry about waking up with a large haystack on her head only just a few tangles. But, she was more so grateful for it now because she might be able to get an extra 30 minutes of sleep in without worrying about doing much to her hair.

 _How in the world would I come up with a dream like that?_ She took another look at the clock on her phone sighing with relief that she still had an hour an half before her alarm was set to go off. "That headache though…" _Maybe it was the outcome of drinking too much coffee lately…_

Alice threw on another baggy t-shirt and underwear and settled herself back into her soft bed, placing her phone beside her. As she started drifting off to sleep, one last thought drifted through her mind: _And_ _where in the world is that bunny?_

 _Ugh… That test was horrible…_ Alice pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and sighed while readjusting her overnight bag and backpack on her shoulder. This morning was _so_ not going well. First, she woke up later than she wanted to; second, that dang _creepy_ bunny was nowhere to be found; third, she ripped a contact, fourth; her freakin' left eye was swollen shut, and last, her apartment complex had to be fumigated because some idiot was hoarding cockroaches in the apartment above hers. _Thus_ , leaving her and her best friend pretty much homeless for a couple of days and causing them both to stay with Alice's nagging-party animal older sister. _Convenient_ , isn't it? Not to mention she had two other classes today after her test before her Science class in the evening.

Alice came up to a bench in front of the science building and sat down with a huff. _A quarter past 6… I have to be in class in 15 minutes._ Alice rested her head in her hands, her long blonde ponytail falling over her shoulder and bangs ruffling in the wind. _It would be totally perfect if something awesome would happen to me today. Like winning a million dollars, or that totally cute Italian guy in my art class asking me on a date, or someone giving out free pizza… Actually, I think I'd rather have the free pizza…_

"You haven't found that rabbit yet?" _Huh?_

"No, and it's not like I can just check the _security footage_! Because certain _idiots_ turn off the cameras at night!"

" _Shhh! Dude, someone might hear you!"_ The two guys made eye contact with Alice and hastened their pace into the building. Curious, _as always_ , Alice quickly picked up her and her bags up and followed them into the building. She couldn't get far before Victoria caught up with her.

"So, did you ever find that freaky a-"

" _Language…"_

"- _butt_ bunny? Wait- Whoa! You weren't kidding about that eye! I totally bet you got some sort of infection from the that rabbit. You should get it looked at." Victoria stated, slinging an arm around her shorter friend's shoulder. " _Wait_ , why are you still caring your bag- _Oh!_ You had that test this morning! How'd it go?"

"How do you think it went?" Alice stepped out of Victoria's arm and gestured at her appearance: strands of straight blonde hair were falling from her ponytail due to the wind, her cross bangs were a bit ruffled, _glasses_ , an oversized blue sweater was hanging off her slim shoulders, black yoga pants that reached a little above her ankle, and white vans: in her eyes, she looked _tired and stressed_.

"What? You look pretty normal to me? Minus the fact that you're actually wearing your glasses and your hair is up. I mean, at least you still made a little effort to get up right? _Plus_ , your eyebrows are still on ' _fleek'_ , as the kids say. But You do look more tired than usual. Especially with that swollen eye. That test was really that stressful?" Alice nodded her head. _It's a good thing I didn't tell her about that nightmare because she would have looked way too into it._ She than gave her friend a pat on her back, and headed off to class. "Oh, Alice! Remember! Don't fall asleep in class! _Science weirdos_!" Victoria sang.

"And you're still too _paranoid_!" Alice sang back before making her way inside her lab room and sitting down by her lab partner. With a sigh, Alice and her partner began setting up the presentation and experiment for the lab project. _And there's no hope of getting out of here before 9 o'clock this evening… Great._

"Miss Mueller… Miss Mueller… You need to wake up." Alice's frail and _very_ old science professor started shaking her awake. "Miss Mueller, you can't keep falling asleep in my class." Alice lifted her head off her arm and rubbed her eyes, turning to her sweet and aged professor with an apologetic smile.

"I'm very sorry, Professor Evans… I'll make sure to get more sleep in the future…"

"Please do... Now, since you fell asleep through most of your classmates' presentations, I need you to stay here and wipe off all the tables and cabinets." The old man hobbled back over to his desk and began to get his roller bag together before heading out the door. "You know, your parents named you spectacularly well. As I recall, little Alice in Old Disney's film had the same problem you did: staring off into space, curious, a bit sassy, and _very_ sleepy." The old man gave a slight chuckle before exiting the lab. "Take care, Miss Mueller. And I'm glad to see you that you can open that left eye of yours now."

"O-Oh, uh, _you too,_ Professor…" Alice took a deep breath and let it out, she didn't even notice the fact that she was able to open up her eye.

"I can't believe it's seriously almost 10 o'clock now…" Alice whispered to herself as she slung her backpack on her back and her overnight bag strap on her shoulder. _Great… Just great… The lights in the building are already turned off- "_ What was _that?!"_ She quickly turned on her phone's flashlight and pointed it down her class's hall as she spotted yet another white rabbit. At least this one actually had red eyes. She walked down the hall to the rabbit who then darted into the classroom closest to it. Alice stopped outside the door, shaking her head. This was the same classroom she found that other rabbit in the night before. "Uh-uh, n _o way_ , little rabbit. I am not following you in there…" Alice and the rabbit looked at each other for what seemed like _ages_ before Alice finally made her way inside the room. Her curiosity getting the best of her, _yet again_.

The bunny hopped around a curtain as Alice made her way inside of the room. Following the rabbit around the black sheet, she stopped as she saw what the bunny was seemingly trying to climb on. A giant steel chest of some sort. Alice will never know what compelled her to do this… But, she placed her phone on the near by counter and dropped the rest of her things to the ground and started to push the chest aside, which was much easier than she thought it would be, and came face to face with a giant hole. _Really? A white rabbit and a hole in the ground... Awesome..._ Alice snorted and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs. " _What now_?" She jokingly asked the bunny. The lights in the science lab came on and footsteps could be heard. At the same time, the rabbit looked at her and then jumped into the hole…

" _No_!" Alice shouted as she reached into the hole to catch the bunny, but ended up losing balance and falling head first into darkness.

"Dude! There's someone in here!"

"Well, don't just stand there, look for them!" A straggly, oiled her boy peeked behind the curtain first, expecting to see the chest and the unwelcomed person; however, he wasn't expecting _this_.

"Uh… Dude… _You need to come see this_ …" The guy in the lab coat from the night before made his way around the curtain and pulled it away completely; his jaw dropped.

"I-Impossible… _The hole_ … I-It's gone…" And it was. Along with the steel chest, the bunny, Alice's bags, and Alice.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice began to stir in the arms of whomever was cradling her. A hard, cold chest, that felt like steel was pressed against her cheek, gloved hands wrapped around her waist, a soft cloak was draped over her shoulder, the air smelled fresh, and was comfortably cool against her face. The combination alone could have gotten rid of her headache only if it wasn't for the consistent jolts she felt underneath her. Alice let out a small groan as a bright light began to seep past her eyelids. " _Shh_ … You will be alright, little one…" _That voice... So, peaceful…_ Darkness took over her once more as she was lulled to sleep by the gentle hum of a heartbeat.

Alice moved around as light began once again seeping past her eyelids. She swung her arm across her eyes and let out a quiet groan, "Someone turn off the sun, please…" A light chuckle sounded at the opposite end of the room. Alice quickly removed her arm and sat up just as fast. As her eyes adjusted to the abnormally bright light, she noticed a very blurry figure. Frightened, she started to frantically look around for her glasses, the man seemed to know what she was looking for and went over to the bedside table to hand her the frames. Alice gave a small thank you when her eyes made contact with seemingly ancient grey eyes of a man with long straight dark hair and a strand coming from either side of his ears. He wore silver robes, and he seemed to have seen more than everyone on the Earth combined; however, nothing about his overall appearance seemed old or young. He made his way over to a chair and sat beside her bed.

"Please, do not be frightened, child. I am only here to ask of your name, where you're from, and why you were around our gates." Alice sat up and gave this man a once over, and this time, getting a really good look at his ears. Her eyes went wide. _Okay, that's either some seriously good esthetics or they're real… Or this is just totally some wacky dream._ Alice blinked a few times before finding her voice to speak.

"How about _you_ tell _me_ your name first, why you have 'elf' ears, and where I am, _then_ I will tell you mine. I need to know I can actually trust you first, _don't you think_?" _Elaborate dream, elaborate demand, right?_ Alice crossed her arms over her chest. _I swear to it all, if those science wierdos kidnapped me and put me in some weird medieval cult convention mindset... when I wake up from this they are sooo dead._ The man gave her a small smile and a nod, already finding the strange human amusing.

"Very well, I could see how that would fair... You are in _Imladris_ , or _Rivendell_. I am the Lord of this realm, Lord Elrond. This realm is home to my kin, and we are, in fact, _elves_ , my dear." Alice gave him an incredulous look causing him to speak up once more. "If you do not believe where you are, go take a look outside." Alice looked at the "Elf" with not much interest and kicked off the covers and walked out to the balcony only to stop in awe. She had never seen such a beautiful place. It was unreal. This is something that only computers could create for movies. _Definitely a dream…_ There was no way that a place such as this actually existed.

"This can't be Earth…" Alice stood at the balcony's edge, a look of surprising peace washed over her face. The comfortable breeze blew around her, ruffling her sweater and long hair that was free of it's ponytail. The sound of waterfalls filled her ear and her mind. _This breeze fills familiar…_ _I could get used to this…_

" _I_ told _you_ , so I think it wise for you to tell me about you now." Alice looked to Lord Elrond then looked back at the view and sighed.

"My name is Alice Mueller, but you can call me Alice. I am from a country called America. It's made up of 50 different states and the one that I lived in was Oklahoma. Well, Tulsa, Oklahoma—Tulsa is a city in Oklahoma… Anyway, you also wanted to know how I got here…" Lord Elrond gave her a nod to continue. Alice took a deep breath, trying to remember. " _Well_ , I was in my last class for the day— _I go to a University_ —and it was very late… I ended up falling asleep in class after my presentation... My professor woke me up and told me that I had to wipe down all the tables and cabinets since I slept through most of my classmates' presentations… Well, once I was done, all the lights were turned off in the science building, so I used my phone to look where I was 's when I heard a noise in the hall I was in and saw a little white rabbit, but it was a different rabbit from the one I saw in that same classroom the night before."

"So, you had already encountered something similar the night before?"

"Well, _yes_ ," Alice answered a bit snappy. "But... the bunny from the night before had a blue eye and green eye-"

"Like your own?" Alice snapped her head in the direction of the elf.

" _W-what are you talking about_? My eyes are green." Lord Elrond gave her a quizzical look.

"Child, your eyes are _not_. Your left eye is a bright shade of blue." _Lies!_ Alice ran back into the room to the vanity that was adjacent to the bed. _Mind… Wake up!_ Sure enough, her left eye was an odd shade of blue that matched with the rabbit from the lab. Lord Elrond came back into the room. Alice couldn't really tell what he was thinking.

"Can you continue your story for me?" Alice nodded her head and sat back down on the bed…

" _Anyway_ … I followed the new bunny inside of the room then behind a black curtain. The rabbit was trying to climb some sort of steel chest… I don't know _what_ compelled me to do so, but I moved it aside. Underneath it was a hole, large enough for me to fall through. And _that's what happened_. I tried grabbing the rabbit when it jumped inside of it, but I ended up falling inside myself." Alice gave a small laugh. " _It's funny_ , really. There's a story where I'm from, where a very similar thing happened to a girl with the same name as I…" Alice stood off the bed and went back out to the balcony and folded her arms on the ledge and laid her head on top of them. Lord Elrond gave her a look of pity and a bit of wonder. For someone being snatched out of her home, she seemed rather calm about what had happened to her. Either being very accepting or just thinking this were a dream. _Of course_ , he could feel the curious and adventurous nature of the girl's soul oozing from her very being as she gazed off in the distance, which might have something to do with way she wasn't as distraught as he thought she should have been. And _yet_ , there was something else. Something that he couldn't place about the girl. Something that made him very sad and frightened for the young human.

" _I see that our guest has awaken_." Alice's ears perked at the familiar voice. A voice that she seemed to have heard in a dream. Turning around, she saw a very beautiful man, or rather _Elf_ , she assumed. He had long golden hair that reflected the sun's rays, he was tall and lean, and his eyes were full of mirth that shone bright in the light. Alice could tell that this Elf, not only had seen the world and its hell, but also learnt how to enjoy it and revel in the good that it can hold.

" _Ah,_ Glorfindel. _Alice_ , this is the _ellon_ who found you unconscious outside of our walls. He has been very eager to meet you… I will leave you two to talk while I go see if I can find any answers on how you managed to get here. Farewell…" Alice managed to wave goodbye to Lord Elrond before awkwardly turning to Glorfindel, who then made his way over to Alice with a smile, bowing to her. Even if this was a dream, Alice still felt the warmth of a blush burn on her cheeks.

"I am very happy to see that the lady, _Alice_ , is doing well. A very unique name, it's not _Westron_ is it?" Alice cocked her head to the side at the handsome Elf before turning back to the balcony and leaning against it like she was before.

"No, it's English... What is _Westron_?" Alice turned her hand on her arms and looked at the Elf, a look of curiousity shining in her eyes. Mainly because she was amazed at her own mind for coming up with something as intricate as this. Glorfindel took a step to the ledge and placed his hands on top as well, a light smile gracing his lips as a deep laugh escaped.

"You are speaking it, little one." Alice raised a thick, dark eyebrow at him that could be seen as the breeze ruffled her bangs.

"Well, where I'm from it's called ' _English_.'"

"And where is this place that you are from where a human can look like an _Elleth_." Alice raised her eyebrows at him again, standing completely up and leaning on the ledge. "Well, _maybe not quite have the height of an Elleth_ …" Alice looked at him and smiled before rolling her eyes and telling him where she was from.

"America? I've never heard of such a realm in Middle Earth, and _I've_ been around since the First Age." Alice didn't even want to know how old he was after he said that. Before she could say anything else, something he said struck her. _Middle Earth? When I wake up, I'm definitely going to have to write this all down._

"Middle Earth? Why do you call it 'Middle Earth' and not just 'Earth?'" Glorfindel looked at her confused.

"Because it's called 'Middle Earth' not just 'Earth.' Our world is known as _Arda._ Middle Earth is the land mass we are currently on." Alice looked bewildered. _This is all so confusing. Well, I'm sure if I explained where I was from even further, he would be just as confused as I was-Wait, what am I thinking, This is my dream._ A knock sounded on the door inside and a young Elf maid entered the room.

"My lady—OH, _My lord Glorfindel_!" The young elf turned her head as if she just walked in on something she shouldn't have. Glorfindel led Alice back into her room to meet with the maid. "I am very sorry for intruding, my lady… _My lord_... My Lord Elrond has asked me to start a bath for the young mistress and to have her dressed in proper clothing. He would like for her to see her new home, and to join him, his family, and you for the evening meal." Alice looked to Glorfindel as he bid her farewell and left the room after telling her to meet him in the courtyard as soon as she was ready. Alice snapped her attention back to the young elf.

"Is 'elleth' female, and 'ellon' male." Alice asked, intrigued as ever.

"Oh, yes, it is! Now, My lady, I would like to brush your hair out for you before you enter your bath. Being in bed for 2 days can cause great damage to anyone's' hair... Including ours!" _Wait, 2 days?!_

"Oh, sure! Not a problem! By the way, what is your name? And there is no need to call me 'my lady,' _Alice_ will do."

"Miluiel, my la-Alice!" The two girls laughed as the young elleth gave her a warm smile and shuffled Alice over to the Vanity in the room, then started to brush out her blonde hair, only to let out a little gasp a while later.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked with a worried tone.

"No… I just figured you were an Elleth. I had no idea you were human... Other than your height, you could easily be mistaken as one of our kin. Excuse me, but humans aren't always as clean and well kept as you are, or pretty, if you don't mind me saying." And here she was thinking that she could never compare to the elleth who was brushing her hair. Her long warm brown hair, and deep blue eyes were enough to make anyone envious. Her skin looked like one of the porcelain dolls her sister collected when they were younger, and she was tall and lean; much more beautiful than any model back home. _Home…_ "I guess that explains why Lord Elrond gave me this vile for your eyes. He said you wore glass in front of your eyes in order to see. I could see that he wasn't joking!"

"What is it supposed to do to my eyes?" Alice asked, looking up to Miluiel.

"If it's made properly, which I know it is, it should heal your sight- Oh, my! Your eyes! They are very unique. In all my 400 years, I have never seen anyone with different colored eyes! It's quite lovely." _Lovely? Hah! Right now I find them far from it actually it's more creepy then anything- "_ Oh my holy biscuit! Did you just say you were 400 years o- _"_ The elleth let out a laugh that sounded nothing short of music.

 _"_ Yes, I did. How old are you, Miss Alice? You seem like a rather young human. I'm rather young as well. Before that, tell me, would you like rose or lavender oil in your bath?" Alice blinked her eyes, coming out of her thoughts.

"Rose. Oh, and I'm 21... Now I understand why Lord Elrond and Glorfindel were calling me 'young one' and 'child.'"

"Oh, I have truly out done myself. You _do_ look very beautiful. The hair across your forehead is rather pretty, what did you say it was called again?"

"Bangs, or fringe. It's really whatever you prefer!" Alice gave her new friend a smile. The two girls had already managed to get along amazingly within the few hours they were together. Alice figured since it was a dream, why not "live it up." Miluiel had already hemmed a dress for Alice seeing that she was nearly a foot shorter than the elleths of Rivendell. Standing at a whopping 5ft 1in. Nevertheless, the dress was beautiful on her: a light silky blue fabric with beading around the waist line that hugged her petite figure perfectly with a deeply swooped neckline, trumpet sleeves, and a full skirt that had a small train behind it. Her cool blonde hair was dried and straight down her back and her bangs were perfectly nestled on her forehead with bits of hair that reached barely below her ears framing her face rather nicely despite the fact that she still had her tortoise and gold rimmed glasses still over her eyes.

"Glorfindel better watch himself or another ellon will _swoop_ in before him!" Alice turned to the elf with wide eyes.

"No way, girl! I just met the guy! Besides, I'd much rather explore rather than being courted by an _ellon_." Oh yes, Milueil told little Alice _all_ about elvish courting. "Now how do I get to the courtyard?"

Glorfindel sat on a bench waiting for the human girl. _Maybe I should have met her at her chamber, so she wouldn't get lost._ "Ahem… Glorfindel?" The great warrior looked up and was met with the sight of the most beautiful being he had ever seen. Regaining composure, he stood up and held out his arm for the small woman. Alice linked her arm with his as he began to escort her down a flight of stairs.

"I must say, my lady, Imladris looks rather true on you. As if you were meant to be a _short_ elleth your whole life." Alice lightly laughed at his playful banter before finally looking around at the breathtaking view that surrounded her; however, Glorfindel was much more focused on the eyes of a few ellons who lingered to long on the human girl he would soon grow protective of.


	3. Chapter 3

' _Ugh… Why is it so bright? Did I take down my curtains…'_ Alice's eyes began to flutter open as the sun hit her room. ' _Curtains… Why are there… not… curt-'_ Her heart fell to her stomach as she shot up in the bed that was obviously not the one that was in her apartment in Oklahoma. She ripped the covers from her body and slowly made her way to the doors that led to a balcony. Waterfalls, unnaturally beautiful sunrise… A beauty beyond anything you could imagine... "There's no way… Last night… _Th-That was just a dream_ … How!" ' _Dangit, Alice… Wake up… Wake up!'_

"I'm afraid that wasn't a dream. If it was, then we all had but the same dream." Alice turned to the voice and saw Lord Elrond's daughter that she had met last night and grew quite fond of.

" _Arwen_... Why are you here? _What's going on_? _Why isn't this just a dream_!"

"My father had a feeling this would happen." Alice rested her head and arms on the balcony ledge. "We have been searching for an answer as to how you have come to be in Imladris, but we have not come to an understand-" Alice's gasp cut her sentence short.

" _The hole_ … The hole I fell through must have been a portal. I can bet you anything that it was a portal to this world." ' _That's the only thing that makes sense… right?'_

" _My bags_ … Arwen, are my bags here?" Alice's eyes locked with Arwen's. The elleth looked back at her with confusion. The blonde girl rushed inside of the room and frantically began to look around. "My bags… One of them has pink roses all over it and the other is a brown leather duffel bag, satchel looking thing. Are they here…? Glorfindel! _Glorfindel_ , would know where they are! He saved me, _right_? I need to go find him, I need my bags… _They-It-It has_ my homework, _my books, my phone! Oh god,_ my sister and best friend must be worried sick! _I need to get out of here_ -"

"Alice! _Peace_ … You must think these things through." Arwen placed gentle hands on the smaller girl and led her to sit back on her bed. "I know you are distraught, but you can't just rush out of here. You must find reason. And once you calm down and eat a bit of breakfast, Miluiel will help you dress and then you can go find Glorfindel." Alice took several deep breaths before nodding her head in agreement.

"I guess you are right. Besides, even though I've definitely worn less in public, it's probably not appropriate for a woman in your world to be seen in a night dress, right?" Arwen smiled and nooded her head causing Alice to playfully roll her eyes and sigh before standing back up and facing the beautiful elf.

"So, do I have any dresses that are a blush pink color…" Arwen returned the girls playful look and got up to help her look.

"Also, _why does it seem like there is always someone in here when I wake up_?"

…

Alice followed the steps down to the courtyard and instantly noticed the ellon's long golden hair in the midst of two other ellons. Alice picked up a bit of her pink dress skirt and ran up to Glorfindel, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him to the side. The ellon let out a joyful laugh at the sudden force. The two other elves were a bit startled and stared at the human with wide eyes.

"Such strength for someone so small!" Glorfindel teased and lightly covered his mouth with his hand, but not fully to the point that his contagious smile couldn't be seen through it. Alice scoffed and playfully crossed her arms and looked up at him. His beauty and genuine nature stunted her heart, but she did a good job at not showing it as she replied to him with a sassy remark that only made him laugh even more. Their light banter was interrupted by one of the dark haired ellons clearing his throat.

Alice gasped and brought her hands to her mouth in surprise realizing she totally interrupted the three ellons. "Oh my goodness… _I am so sorry_! I just- It was urgent…" Alice dropped her head and clasped her hands together in front of her in embarrassment.

"It is quite alright, my lady. I just wanted to let you know that we will be taking our leave." The ellon smiled and placed a hand over his heart. The two elves bowed their heads before walking away. Alice sighed and cupped her hands on her cheeks looking up at Glorfindel again.

"I am _so_ sorry… I tend to not think things through sometimes. That was very rude of me…" Glorfindel smiled down at Alice and patted her head like a child.

"You are a very interesting human, little Alice… You have yet to realize that you have all the forgiveness here… _Alas_ , did you need me for something. You seemed rather frantic. What was it?" Alice's eyes went wide and she nodded her head.

"Have you seen the bags that I came here with? They have… my…" Alice trailed off as Glorfindel gave her a smile and nodded his head.

"They are in your chambers." Alice huffed in annoyance. She had looked there! Grant it, she probably didn't look very well, but she had looked!

"Could you show me?" Before there was any sort of protest from the ellon, Alice had already grabbed his hand and began pulling him along to her chambers. Glorfindel laughed again. Despite the fact that she was rather inappropriate at the moment, having her company so early in the morning was enough to brighten his day.

"You're rather _spirited_. What happened to the well-behaved, _almost_ _elleth_ last night at dinner?" Alice gave gave a snarky "ha ha, you are _so_ funny" and looked up at him as they entered her room. Glorfindel went straight to a hutch and pulled out her two bags. The girl ran over to him and took the bags and jumped on her bed. Glorfindel looked at her curiously trying to figure out what was so important about the bags she had brought. His men had searched them and said they only found clothes and books.

" _Alice_ , if you don't mind me asking, what is it that you are looking for?"

"I'm looking for this thing called a 'phone'. I'm just curious if I will have any service here to contact my sister and by now, she's probably contacted our parents..." ' _Gosh,_ They're probably worried _sick_.'

"But, I highly doubt there's service here. Considering Middle Earth probably doesn't have satellites floating around in space, _right_?" Alice looked up at a very confused Glorfindel before sighing in defeat.

"I didn't think, so… But it doesn't matter anyway, it was just hopeful thinking… Besides my phone is nowhere to be…found." Alice sat on the bed thinking about where her phone could be. ' _Oh no_!'

"I sat it down on the counter when I moved that chest to the side…" Alice buried her face in her hands. ' _I can't believe I did that. What was I thinking?'_ Glorfindel crossed the room to her and patted her head. However, her head popped back up at an idea knocking his hand away.

"Was there anything else around when you found me besides my bags?" Alice looked up at Glorfindel with hopeful eyes. Hoping that _maybe_ her phone made it through too. Glorfindel bent down beside her.

"Well, it should be alright to tell you this… Elrond wanted me to wait until he knew for sure that you had realized this wasn't a dream _and_ I can see that you have. When Elladan, Elrohir, and I went to patrol the gates, I saw a large black hole shining with stars form close to the ground. When I looked through, I saw you in a very strange room with an even stranger light as well as a rabbit. Before I could even blink, you were falling through it as well as your belongings, the chest, and the rabbit. It seemed like it took for ever for you to fall through. You were unconscious by time you landed on the grass and the rabbit died from landing on a rock. We searched your bags as a precaution and left the chest because it could not be lifted. I have sent a few of my stronger soldiers along with Elladan and Elrohir to retrieve it yesterday. That is why they weren't at dinner last night. Alas, they have not returned. I didn't want to worry you, but that is what I was speaking about with my soldiers. I asked them to go search for the party and see if they needed aid." Learning of this, Alice smiled to herself. Any worries about her phone were long gone.

"No wonder you guys have been so nice to me. You actually saw what happened…" Alice's smiled faded and she looked at Glorfindel a little puzzled.

"But, I'm _still_ not understanding one thing… Why couldn't you move the box? Considering it was pretty easy for me to push it aside." Glorfindel's brow knitted together with worry. He knew she had a point and the same troubling feeling that he had when he touched the chest the day he found her had found its way back in his mind. However, there was nothing they could do at the moment.

Glorfindel smiled and grabbed her small hand. "Do not trouble your mind, little one. We will find answers when they return with the chest." The ellon gave her a very miraculous smile. Alice couldn't help to return her own and stood up with her hand still in his. Alice's face erupted into a blush and she quickly let go of his hand and clasped her hands together in front of her. The action caused Glorfindel's smile to widen. Her flustered expression was cute in his eyes and he had the sudden urge to see her do it again.

"Shall we take our leave? I have no other responsibilities today." Glorfindel stuck his arm out for Alice to hold and led her out of her room, to the courtyard, and out to the stables. "Do you know how to ride, Alice?"

" _Ride_? Like ride a _horse_?" Glorfindel nodded his head with an amused expression. Alice looked ahead and saw the stable full of beautiful horses who were all itching to leave.

"No… Uh, I've actually never ridden one before…" Glorfindel looked wide eyed at the girl before steering her into the stables. She gripped his arm tighter as they approached a magnificent white stead.

" _No_? Then I guess you will just have to ride with me. Asfaloth won't mind at all." Glorfindel smiled and began to saddle up the large beast. Before Alice even registered what he said, due to being distracted by the other horses, Glorfindel had already begun to lift her onto the back of the horse as he went ahead and hopped in front of her. As soon as he settled, she instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. The warmth radiating through Glorfindel's tunic was extremely comforting as Alice's fingers clutched around the fabric.

"Please, go easy!" Alice let out a shriek and wrapped her arms even tighter around Glorfindel's waist as he kicked off. His laugh rung through the stables as they made their way out.

…

"So, Alice, could you tell me a bit more about where you came from? I'm sure a place where you do not ride horses would be very interesting." Alice smiled. Thinking about home all of a sudden was a bit sad for her, but she would never let that stop her from being able to tell her new friend about her home.

"Well, people do actually ride horses, but its more for like sport, or a hobby. They aren't commonly used for transportation. If I needed to go anywhere that was a bit too far to walk or was a bit dangerous, I would either ride this thing called a 'bike', or ride in a machine called a 'car'." Alice clung to Glorfindel as he did a small leap over a fallen branch. She couldn't see the quizzical look that plastered across the elf's face, but his silence was enough realization for her and she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Oh gosh! you have no idea what I'm talking about… _Well_ … _Um_ , If I had my phone, I would show you a picture, but since it probably didn't come with me…" Alice trailed off upon realizing that she never properly thanked him. She suddenly felt terrible and started twiddling the cloth that was between her fingertips. ' _I can't believe I've been so selfish…'_

"Glorfindel?" Alice spoke softly and leaned her head against his back.

"Yes, little one?" Glorfindel's back muscles relaxed at the soft pressure.

"I just realized I haven't properly thanked you for finding me and bringing me to Imladris. So… Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't… Honestly, it kind of scares me thinking about what would have happened if you didn't… I'm not exactly, _well…_ tough, or strong. There's no way I could have defended myself..." Glorfindel smiled and placed a gentle hand over Alice's.

"I may not come from the land you have, but I understand how difficult and sad a transition like this must be. The fact that you are being tossed into an entirely new culture and world and trying to make the best of the situation makes you far tougher than what you may think. I hope overtime that you will give yourself more credit. You are strong and brave, my little Alice." Alice turned her head and pressed her cheek into his back trying to elude the blush that harshly decided to make its presence at his comment. Unbeknownst to her, Glorfindel was trying to suppress his own reddening cheeks. His words were honest and the first time in his _two_ lives, he caught himself not thinking before speaking. He couldn't believe he called her "my little Alice" and neither could she.

' _Alice, no… You've only known him for a day. Do not let yourself fall. Home is where you belong.'_ But, her own thoughts weren't enough to keep her from day dreaming of the beautiful ellon with the golden hair. And, Glorfindel also had a realization of his own. He had never really met anyone he wanted to court, but he suddenly hoped that one day the phrase "my little Alice" would soon be truth to him and that she would grant him courtship.

Unfortunately, their day dreams had been interrupted by Elrohir and several other ellons riding up to them.

"My lord! The chest and Elladan have gone missing!"

…

"That Sarah is no good…" ' _She doesn't even care that her little sister is missing!'_ Victoria had managed to sneak into the Science building in the early hours of the morning to make sure she would at least be the only person in the building. Meaning, _no freaky science kidnappers_. She had to do what she knew Alice would do for her and that was search for her no matter the amount of trouble it could get her in.

" _Damn you_ , _Alice_ … I told you to be careful and not linger! _You just never listen_!" Victoria whispered and continued walking down the hallway to the abandoned classroom where the two girls had first found the bunny. _'I can't believe I'm actually going back in here. Alice, you owe me big time if I find your little ass.'_

Victoria shined her phone in the empty classroom and noticed a spare closet at the opposite end that caused her heart to speed up. _'God, Alice… Please be in there… Please…'_ The closer she got to the door she was able to hear rustling behind it. The noise would have usually scared her but this time it gave her hope. Hope that her best friend was in there.

' _I can't believe the police didn't listen to me about those science freaks!'_ Victoria reached out her hand to the door knob and turned it; however, it was locked.

' _Shit! Of course, it is!'_ Victoria began to frantically look around for something to break the lock off. Her eyes soon fell on the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall by the window. She grabbed it as fast as she could and slipped her phone in her pocket quickly before raising it above her head and slamming it down, instantly breaking the lock.

"Ah ha! _I did it_! Alice!" Victoria flipped the lights on in the closet and instantly froze in fear. A man was leaning against the shelves with his hands tied and blood dried to his forehead. The girl quickly composed herself and shakily made her way to the unknown man. She was a bit taken a back by his clothes considering he looked like he just popped out of Skyrim.

"H-Hey… _Are you okay_?" The man's tired gray eyes connected with Victoria's brown ones before looking down at the fire extinguisher that was still in her hand causing him to weakly scoot away. Victoria instantly realized this is what he was hit with and dropped it to the ground with her hands up.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you! _I-I truly promise_! I'm just looking for my friend. I think the guys who did this to you took her too… _Maybe you've seen her_! Sh-She's really short with long blonde hair… Her names Alice…" The man's eyes went wide as if he knew that name.

"Have you seen her?" The man was about to reply, but Victoria gasped as she looked closer at the gash on his forehead.

"Oh-Oh my god, that looks really bad! C-Can you stand? I'm going to help y-you get out of here." The man nodded causing long dark hair to fall around his shoulders. Victoria untied his hands and helped lift him off the ground and slung his strong arm around her shoulder to steady him. Victoria was already on the tall side, but this man towered over her making it a little difficult to support him. He was about to speak again, but Victoria quickly shushed him.

"We'll talk later! We have to hurry before someone catches us!" The man nodded his head softly before trying to pick up the pace to get the hell out of there.

As Victoria led him to passenger seat of her car, something she was happy she went ahead and brought regardless of living across the street, she finally got a good look at the side of his head and noticed pointy ears sticking out of his tussled hair. Her eyes grew large as she looked at him. "W-Who-Wh-What _are_ you?"

"My name is Elladan. I'm an elf of Imladris and your friend, Alice, is well and safe in the hands of my father and his council…" He tried his best to get his words out, so that the woman who rescued him could feel more at ease about him and her friend. But, before Victoria could question him, his head fell over and he passed back out.

" _What the fuck is going on in there_?"


	4. Chapter 4

Victoria laid Elladan on her couch with a huff and fell to the floor. "He could have at least passed out after I got him up the stairs…" She grumbled and sat up to look at him before readjusting his legs on the couch to be more comfortable. She looked up and remembered his wound and decided to flip on the main light in the living room. Her eyes zeroed in at the gash on his forehead. Blood matted the left side of his hair and stained his face, but examining the cut further, Victoria sighed with relief. The blood around it made the gash look far worse than what it actually was.

"Just some cleaning and a few sutures will do just fine. _Thank God_ …" The girl went to her room where she kept her clinical bag and pulled out her suture kit, some cleaning supplies for the wound, and a package of sterile gloves. She then sat them on a stack of paper towels that she placed on the ground by the couch. After making sure her burgundy hair was tied up well out of her face and her hands and arms were nice and clean, she put on the gloves and began cleaning and stitching up the elf's wound.

After she was done stitching the wound, she filled a bowl with soapy water, pulled out another change of gloves, and grabbed a clean towel to clean up as much of the blood off his face as she could. Her hand pushed his hair aside to clean down his neck but she froze when she saw his ear. Victoria came out of her daze and let out a skeptical grunt.

"That's right, he said he was an elf… _Man_ , Alice would have believed him _right off the bat_ … There's _no way_ these are real…" Her hand caressed and pulled at his ear, but nothing happened. No makeup came off, no esthetics budged… She pulled off her gloves and felt the tip with bare hands and gasped. ' _That feels fucking real!'_

Victoria leaned back on her heels and stared with wide eyes and heart racing. "There's no way those are real… Oh, _I know_! He probably got plastic surgery… Let's see if I can find the scar…" Her heart raced even faster as she searched for the scar and came up short. _'Was he seriously telling the truth? About him… and Alice?'_

"Alice…" Victoria slid off her knees to her bottom and clutched the side of the couch. Her heart ached and her brown eyes began to burn with tears. She covered her mouth with her hand as a sob escaped. _'I really hope what he said was true even if it is crazy…'_

…

Sunlight came through and caressed Elladan's face. His gray eyes opened suddenly. This was the first real light he had seen in what felt like days. He was thankful, but he was also very much alert. His surroundings were different than the small dark space he had been in. There were paintings and "life like paintings" of people hanging on the walls. There was a dark box on top of a worn white cabinet directly in front of him and he realized he was sitting on a comfortable couch with furry pink pillows. He looked down and noticed a piece of white parchment sitting in his lap.

He was about to open it up, but the sound of a door opening and a gasp alerted his attention to behind him. He stood up quickly and turned around ready to defend himself. A girl he vaguely remembered was standing in front of him. She was tall with dark tan skin and hair that was an unusual deep red color that fell a little past her shoulders. Before he could say something, she quickly intervened.

"I'm not going to hurt you! Honestly, I'm probably more scared than you are… _Just think…_ Do you remember _anything_?" Elladan looked into her brown eyes. Apparently, that did the trick because all the events of her rescuing him came rushing back. His demeanor relaxed a bit and he placed a hand over his heart.

"Forgive me… I do not mean to startle you… But may I know the name of the woman who has helped me?" The girl visibly relaxed which caused Elladan to relax more as well.

"My name is Victoria, and I already know your name. You told me it last night…" Elladan was about to speak again, but was interrupted.

"Oh! I see you found my note! You can disregard it. I ran to the store this morning to get you a change of clothes. I left you that note just in case you woke up before I got back." Victoria gave him a nervous smile before walking to the bag on the counter and fetching the few pieces of clothing and handing them to him. Elladan sat the note down and took the clothes from her hands.

"I am very much in your debt. Thank you." Victoria looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey, it's no problem! But, I do have a lot of questions, and you probably do too, but you need to shower first and _I_ need to change the bandage on your head. Now, I'm not squeamish, but I couldn't get all the blood off your face, so you're still lookin' like a walking horror movie victim and I don't think I can look at it much longer." Victoria let out a nervous breath that sounded more like a laugh before leading him to the bathroom.

As soon as Elladan stepped through the door he caught his reflection in the mirror. He didn't quite understand what Victoria meant by "horror movie victim," but he knew the word horror… And he was definitely that. Victoria called out his name and he turned to her giving her his full attention.

"Alrighty… Do you know how to work a shower?"

"I'm afraid I don't…" Elladan was ashamed that he was a bit useless here, but he gratefully hung on every word that Victoria said so that he would know what to do. But, when she showed him how to put on the clothes she got him, specifically the underwear, he got a bit embarrassed realizing he would have done it all wrong if she hadn't shown him. Even so, he was very appreciative on how thorough she was at explaining things and never leaving anything out.

…

Victoria was in the kitchen preparing a late lunch while she waited for Elladan to get done cleaning up. Her attention turned to the bathroom door opening. As soon as Elladan came into view, Victoria's breath caught in her throat. She had never seen someone so handsome in her life. _'Well… He cleans up well.'_

"Thank you for everything you have done so far for me. I am deeply in your debt." Elladan placed his hand over his heart again. Victoria smiled and returned her attention back to the turkey wraps she was making.

"Seriously, it's no problem. I'm glad to see those joggers fit! I was a little worried because you're _really_ tall." Victoria finished the last wrap and picked up the plates.

"I'm sure you're hungry. I don't know what elves eat, so I just went with something light and fresh. They are hummus/turkey wraps… I hope you like it." Elladan smiled and sat adjacent to Victoria at a table a few feet behind the couch.

"I could eat anything at this moment." The ellon took a bite and was very much pleased with the flavors even though it was something he never had before.

"Alright… I'm gonna be blunt... Last night, you said you were an elf. It took me all night and most of the day to accept that, _but_ I believe you. So, we _don't_ need to really get into that. _But_ you said that Alice was safe in Im-Imlad- _something_ with _your father and his council_? Care to elaborate? Like, _where is she exactly_? How did you find her? _And why should I take your word on her safety_?" Victoria's normal warm and motherly eyes were hard and cold as she spoke to the ellon in front of her. Elladan nodded his head and sat his wrap down.

"I understand your worry and your skepticism… So, let me start by saying that you can take my word on her safety because I have sworn my life to protect my realm and the elves and creatures who not only live there, but those who are also in great need. Being an elf, I am far more true to my word then that of men." The earnest honesty in his gray eyes was more than enough to make Victoria trust and believe his words. Elladan didn't realize until this moment that this was the first time she had truly relaxed since the disappearance of her friend.

…

" _That Alice_! _I told her to be careful! God! I knew those science freaks had everything to do with this!"_ Elladan watched as Victoria paced back in forth after intently listening to everything that Elladan had saw and was told by his father. She was on a heated rant about how she was going to "fuck up every last one of those greasy haired fucks." He was a bit startled by the profanity coming from such a beautiful woman, but knew better than to say anything. After awhile, Victoria calmed down and sat back down at the table and buried her head in her crossed arms.

" _You know_ … If I were the one to disappear and Alice were here instead of me… She would've already come up with a plan to get us _both_ back to where we belong. She's smart like that…" Once again, Victoria's eyes burned with tears. "I miss her so much… I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't come back… She and her crazy older sister are the only family I have…" Elladan wasn't quite sure what to do. He's only ever had to comfort his mother, but that was easy. He didn't want to step out of his boundaries, so he placed a tentative hand over Victoria's.

"Where is Alice's sister? Has she helped you at all?" Victoria lifted her head up and wiped her eyes and snorted at Elladan's question.

" _Yeah, right_. The day that our apartment had to be fumigated, _the day that Alice went missing_ , she decided to go to Texas with a bunch of other people. _Completely_ forgetting that Alice and I were supposed to stay with her. It was a good thing I had a spare key to her house. I've tried contacting her, but she won't answer my calls. Even Alice's dad and stepmom were contacted, but he keeps telling me to leave it in the hands of the police. But, the police _won't listen_ when I tell them about the weird stuff happening in the old science building! _Honestly_ , the only person who really cares about this is _me_. Everyone else in Alice's _damn family_ are to selfish to do anything about her disappearing!" Elladan kept his expression neutral out of habit, but that didn't mean that Victoria's words didn't reach his heart.

"We will find away together then, and I mean that sincerely. This is not just about me getting back to Imaldris. I want to help you and Alice as well." Victoria's face lit up and and she stood up from her chair and hugged the ellon around his neck completely catching him off guard. When he didn't respond, Victoria quickly pulled away and apologized for making him feel uncomfortable. He dismissed it with a smile and nod.

"Well, my lady, at least we know where to start!" Victoria inwardly panicked at what Elladan was implying.

" _Then_ we'll go around 5 in the morning... That way we can search without worrying about anyone else being there. But before we do _anything,_ I really need to clean your wound and re-bandage it. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but you're lucky I'm a med student or else we would've had a hard time explaining you _and_ your pointy ears to the ER."

…

It was about 4:45 in the morning and Victoria and Elladan were walking to the school. Since Elladan's weapons were taken by the "freaks", he had to make a few of Victoria's kitchen knives work. He was surprised from the lack of protest, but after her rant, he figured that she didn't have any problem with violence as a defense. _Also_ considering what had happened to him, he wanted to make sure he had _something_ on him. He still couldn't get over the fact that a couple of men caught _him_ off guard. To say that it angered him, would be an understatement.

" _So,_ Elladan… You never told me how _you_ got here or how you got injured." Victoria looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"I suppose I have not. _Well_ , I guess I got here the same way Alice did. However, it was a bit strange. We were trying to retrieve the chest, but it could not be lifted. We tried many different ways, but it never shifted. It wasn't until the light hit it just right, I noticed an ancient language appear around it. _Mind you_ , this was something even elf eyes could barely pick up. I didn't know what compelled me to do this, but I felt like I could move it in that instant. As soon as I did, I fell right into the hole and the chest came with me. I wasn't unconscious for long as Alice was, but as soon as I came to, I was surrounded by the men you described to me. And before I could grab something to defend myself, I was hit upside the head with a large red cylinder. I'm certain I was in there for a whole day before you found me. They had hit me once more that same night in the same spot." Victoria's face contorted in pain.

"I can't imagine how confused and frightened you were." Elladan didn't feel comfortable with admitting that he was frightened, considering he's been through worse, but he didn't want to lie.

"I _was_ frightened. That's why I am exceedingly thankful for your aid." Elladan smiled down at Victoria. He didn't even seem phased by what happened. The girl looked at him in awe.

"Well, you're _obviously_ very strong. I was half expecting you to need pain medication and rest today, but I could tell you didn't…" Victoria trailed off as they approached the old science building. She will never understand why a few teachers still chose to teach in this building and not the new one that was built, _or_ why the school decided to keep it in the first place. However, Victoria had a feeling she now knew why.

They snuck around the far side of the building to the utility door where Victoria could use her key card to get in unnoticed. Having a master key card was one perk of being an aid once a week to a teacher who had an 8:30am class and also had issues of sleeping in. As soon as the door clicked open, the two of them quickly and quietly rushed inside. Unfortunately, Victoria had to lead the way to the classroom since Elladan didn't know where to go.

The building seemed to smell muskier and was seemingly creepier and more eerie than usual. Even though Victoria was leading the way, she walked as close as she could to Elladan. She always disliked this place and now she hated it. She hated what was being allowed to go on in here. She hated what it did to her best friend. She wanted nothing more to get away from it. A small creaking noise could be heard as the building settled a little. Victoria jumped at the sound and clung to Elladan's arm. She was about to pull away realizing he's not exactly a touchy person, but he placed a hand over hers silently telling her that she could hold on to him. She was more than relieved.

"I hear voices." Elladan whispered to Victoria. The girl looked at him confused.

"I don't hear anything…"

"Elves have very good hearing as well as sight."

"Good to know..." And it was. It brought Victoria a sense of relief. Considering he could hear people approaching if need be and get them out of there. Soon they got closer to the classroom and Victoria could finally hear the voices speaking. Luckily the classroom was a lab, so it was large and two doors on either end. The black curtain that Victoria saw was opened and quite a few men and women were standing around what she could only guess was the chest. However, Victoria had to control her panic as she recognized an elderly man in the midst of the crowd: Professor Evans.

"What is Professor Evans doing here? Elladan can you hear what they're talking about?" Victoria whispered rather frantically. The ellon nodded his head yes.

"There are many things to tell you; however, there's one thing of importance. We must stop them from getting to Middle Earth. If not, your world and my world will be covered in shadow."

" _Well_ , how do we do that?" For the first time, emotion could be seen across Elladan's face as he sadly and apologetically looked down at Victoria.

"The chest must leave your world and never return." Victoria's eyebrows knitted in worry as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Meaning…" Victoria already knew what he meant, but she didn't dare admit it to herself. Elladan placed his hands on her shoulders in order to comfort her with his next words.

"Alice can not return."

…

Victoria and Elladan barely made it back to Victoria's apartment. After Elladan told her that Alice wouldn't be able to return, Victoria may have _screamed_ " _No, I can't let that happen"_ causing all of the people in the lab to realize they were not alone. If it weren't for Elladan, they probably would have gotten caught.

Victoria looked up at the ellon, panting. She was about to yell something, but in the blink of an eye Elladan pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his hand. It was a good thing they didn't turn on the lights yet.

" _Shh_ , they followed us. I don't believe they know which housing they are looking for, but you must not yell for they are right outside." Elladan whispered closely to her ear. And sure enough, she heard voices right outside her door. Elladan moved his hand away, so that Victoria could quickly and carefully lock the door without making any noise. She leaned closely to the door in order to hear what the voices were saying. Even though they were muffled, she could still hear them loud and clear.

"This is where that Alice girl lived. I'm pretty sure her best friend lives across from her. I've seen them together sometimes on my way back—"

" _Yeah,_ she does. I live above Alice and I'm pretty positive that Victoria is the one who keeps coming back." For some reason the voices kept getting louder and louder like they were wanting to be heard.

"I'm sure she is, by the way _dude_ , congratulations on your cockroach infestation working. The boss was right. Who _knew_ the girl would still keep a bag of clothes on her all day? It was like she knew she was going to be tossed in another dimension! I _swear_ , the boss is too soft sometimes." As he said the last words, Elladan was able to pull Victoria away from the door and securely behind him. From what he could see through the peephole from where he was standing; they were about to break in.

A loud bang against the door resonated and caused the door to open. Victoria screamed and clutched on to Elladan who readied two knives to fight off the intruders.

As soon as they came in, the guy with the fire extinguisher began swinging it at Elladan. " _Do you want to get hit upside the head with this again_!" Elladan easily evaded the swings with a certain ethereal grace and stabbed the man in the shoulder.

"What the _fuck_ , dude! _You're going to pay for that_!" The guy who lived above Alice pulled out a gun on them causing Victoria to pull back Elladan from attacking him. Even with his agility and strength, there's no way he could fight off a gun.

"Heh, not so tough now-"

" _Dude_ , shut up and get them in the car! _I'm losing a lot of blood here_!"

"Alright, fine! _Go on_! Or I _will_ shoot!" Victoria looked up at Elladan and nodded, fear very much evident on her face. The both of them followed the two boys out the door and into a beat up car. Victoria didn't realize when she started holding Elladan's hand, but she was thankful he didn't pull away.

The four of them arrived back to the Science Building and Victoria and Elladan were forced to go back into the classroom at gun point. The first thing they noticed was that the classroom was mostly empty except Professor Evans and a couple of large men standing by the chest. However, a glare of writing on the chest briefly caught Elladan's attention. The same glare he saw the day he disappeared. And he instantly knew that he and Victoria could get to safety if they could just push it to the side.

"Nice work, boys." Professor Evans eyes widen at the bloodied mess of one of the men he sent after Victoria. "Jennifer is still here; she will patch you up. _Go_. I have business here." The two guys scurried off like obedient dogs with tails tucked between their legs. All need for vengeance gone.

" _Victoria_... _Tsk, tsk_. I am _so_ disappointed in you. You are nothing like that little troublemaker, Alice. I figured you would have been a good girl and let the police handle it. _And now_ , you have caused me more trouble then I cared for." Victoria was about to lunge at the old man, but his two goons began to step forward, so Elladan pulled her back to safety. The scene caused the old man to laugh.

"That's right. _You have the temper_. I wonder how upset you'll be when I tell you that Alice was a guinea pig in my plans. All this time, we have been sending rabbits and gaining their carcus in return and when we finally had a rabbit return unscathed, we decided to send a _human_. Alice was just _too_ easy. _Far too curious for her own good._ I'll admit… I wasn't expecting her to take that rabbit though. That has caused a bit of a problem. _Even so_ … She fed right into the trap without any effort on my part. It wasn't until an elf returned unharmed that we were certain that Alice may not have been dead after all." Victoria tried to attack the professor, but Elladan grabbed her again and held him to her for fear of her getting hurt.

" _How could you_! You were her _favorite_ teacher! _She trusted you_! And you didn't even care if she _died?"_ Professor Evans laughed sinisterly.

"I don't care who dies. I will kill anyone who gets in my way. It's a shame to kill the elf though… _I could have used him_." As the old man said this, his eyes turned to flame and his stature went from frail to 20 years stronger. "Kill them." The two men that were with him advanced forward with a thick wire in either of their hands ready to strangle them quickly and silently.

Everything happened so fast that it was hard for Victoria to keep up. Elladan had tossed her on his back, and as she clung to him for dear life, he pulled a hidden knife from his side and began to easily dodge the two men, stabbing them in the neck in the process. Elladan was able to make it over to the chest and kick it to the side roughly with it banging against the wall. However, before he was able to jump, he was yanked back as Professor Evans grabbed a hold of Victoria pulling her off. Without putting much thought into it, Victoria snatched the knife from Elladan's hand and plunged it in the Professor's thigh causing him to stagger back. Not a beat was missed as Victoria grabbed Elladan's hand and jumped into complete darkness.

…

Alice screamed and fell to her knees clutching her torso as if she were coming out of some daze she had no control over. However, she couldn't shake what she just saw and heard: Victoria's frightened face as she was slung on to the back of an elf that was none other than Elladan, a sinister voice, blood, fighting… The horror of it all was too much for her to handle, but the words " _Kill them_ " is what made fear induced tears pour from her eyes. She had no idea what happened after Victoria stabbed the leg of the person who was attacking them. And the thought that they might have captured her and killed her and Elladan made Alice's heart burst and her chest ache.

" _Alice! Alice! You're alright… You're alright…"_ Glorfindel fell to Alice's side and cradled her bare body to his chest. He tried not to seem alarmed that her body was as cold as ice.

" _Miluiel_! Please fetch a blanket!" Miluiel left in a hurry. Glorfindel turned his attention back on Alice and ran a gentle hand through her hair trying to soothe her quiet sobs. She clutched his tunic harder and buried her face into his chest. Miluiel was back as soon as she left and tucked the blanket around Alice. She couldn't hide the shock as her fingers brushed Alice's bare skin.

"Miluiel, what happened?" The elf maid shook her head unsure of what really happened.

"I'm not sure, my lord… I was about to help her dress and she just _froze_ and screamed and fell to the floor. The only thing I remember seeing was that her blue eye looked like it was on fire before it went back to normal… I didn't know what to do, so that's why I fetched you." Glorfindel looked down at Alice, fear very much evident on his face.

"Thank you, Miluiel… Do not speak of this to anyone… I will tell Lord Elrond what you have told me. I promise we will find answers." Alice began to calm down and was able to lift her head and look at her friend.

"Miluiel? Can you please give me a moment alone with Glorfindel?" Miluiel gasped mainly because Alice's left eye was badly bloodshot, but also because she had on no clothes.

"But, Alice! You are bare!"

"Yes, but this is far more important than getting dressed…" Her voice was broken and sad. Miluiel noticed she was not going to budge and bowed her head and excused herself from the room. Alice looked up at Glorfindel and was about to speak, but stopped when his hand that was wrapped around her waist cradled the left side of her face. If her body temperature wasn't so wonky at the moment, her cheeks would have burned scarlet red.

"Your eye… Are you in any pain?" His thumb gently ran across her cheek as he looked at her as if he wished he could take away all the pain that she had ever endured in the world and carry it for her. However, he was perfectly fine with trying to bring warmth and color back to her cheek seeing as the latter was impossible.

"A little… But, I'll be fine. This has happened once before… Before I came to Imladris actually… It faded pretty quickly if I remember right." Her throat felt dry and the sound of her voice made it very obvious. Glorfindel pressed his forehead against hers and sighed. This was the most intimate they had ever been aside from Alice holding onto him when they would ride Asfaloth. The contact brought strength and warmth back into her body. It made her feel safe and protected from outside forces as well as her own mind. And if the vision that she had wasn't plaguing her heart and mind at the moment, she would have told him of her feelings for him that had been growing exceedingly over the past few days. But, that was going to have to wait.

"Glorfindel…" The ellon replied with a small hum.

"I-It's more than just pain... I think I have visions... I wasn't sure of the last time because it happened while I was sleeping, so I assumed it was a dream… _But_ , I obviously wasn't sleeping when this one happened…" Glorfindel opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at the woman that had finally given him reason for his second life. The broken look on her face made his heart lurch and he only wished he could take away whatever was haunting her.

"What was it that you saw, _meleth nîn_?"


End file.
